Kasper "The Watt Monster" Asgreen

[Broccolidwarf]

Another Asgreen anecdote from Brian Holm, in this weeks edition of "Radio Tour":

In the team bus, ahead of stage 5 at the Dauphine, which starts on a climb:

Asgreen; "I'm attacking from kilometer 0".
Holm: "Are you serious?"
Asgreen: "Yes"
Holm: "Why?"
Asgreen: "I just wanna check the legs, I can do the groupetto another day".

 

[RedheadDane]

And he did get himself into the break that day, didn't he? Forcing Bora to do some work.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl mist Kasper Asgreen in Ronde van de Provence door corona | sporza

Ronde van Vlaanderen-winnaar Kasper Asgreen moet zijn seizoensdebuut uitstellen. De Deen van Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl was voorzien voor de Ronde van de Provence, maar een positieve coronatest gooit roet in het eten.

sporza.be

Out of Provence with Covid.

 

[Boes]

Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl mist Kasper Asgreen in Ronde van de Provence door corona | sporza

Ronde van Vlaanderen-winnaar Kasper Asgreen moet zijn seizoensdebuut uitstellen. De Deen van Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl was voorzien voor de Ronde van de Provence, maar een positieve coronatest gooit roet in het eten.

sporza.be

Out of Provence with Covid.

A darn pitty for the classics coming up. I hope he's one of the lucky ones that recoveres from Covid quickly. There's already no Alaphilippe in the cobbles, MVP probably woun't be at his best and now Asgreen is sick. Colbrelli and WVA fighting it out in the cobbles classics this year?

 

[Earns1985]

A darn pitty for the classics coming up. I hope he's one of the lucky ones that recoveres from Covid quickly. There's already no Alaphilippe in the cobbles, MVP probably woun't be at his best and now Asgreen is sick. Colbrelli and WVA fighting it out in the cobbles classics this year?

It´s still more then 1,5 month until the most important cobble classics and with Omikron not being that heavy anymore I´m staying optimistic that he will be in top-form. Better to have it now then one or two weeks before the race or even during the most important races..

 

[Open Horizon]

Yep this should be Van Aert's spring.

He looks stronger than ever individually, has much better collective support than ever, and his great nemesis is down the gutter (there's an amazing contrast beween Van Aert's win record in races with MvdP vs races without MvdP).

Hard to see any rider sustaining a gap on a top Van Aert and his 3-4 strong domestiques in any of the classics. Afraid it will all come down to small group sprint finishes, which he has a good chance of winning.

Best thing for us spectactors would be if WvA loses the group sprints in say MSR, E3 and GW and will be forced to attack more early in RvV and PR.

 

[AlfaLum]

Yep this should be Van Aert's spring.

He looks stronger than ever individually, has much better collective support than ever, and his great nemesis is down the gutter (there's an amazing contrast beween Van Aert's win record in races with MvdP vs races without MvdP).

Hard to see any rider sustaining a gap on a top Van Aert and his 3-4 strong domestiques in any of the classics. Afraid it will all come down to small group sprint finishes, which he has a good chance of winning.

Best thing for us spectactors would be if WvA loses the group sprints in say MSR, E3 and GW and will be forced to attack more early in RvV and PR.

Well even for Laporte, Benoot and Teunissen it will be very hard to control the real Flanders classics. The succession of hills in E3 and Flanders is so rapid that if you let those guys work in between they will be dropped on the next. So I still can't see them going for that and conclude it successfully repeatedly.

Also it would be a big bet with some other fast guys likely to be there. I think in Flanders the quick-step tactics just work best, and Jumbo should also sent Wouts teammates up the road.

 

[jmdirt]

His knee wasn't good yet but they brought him instead of Cav...

 

[RedheadDane]

His knee wasn't good yet but they brought him instead of Cav...

Pretty sure they brought Jakobsen instead of Cav, as was the plan the entire season.

 

[jmdirt]

Pretty sure they brought Jakobsen instead of Cav, as was the plan the entire season.

NOPE! FJ was coming to France no matter what (barring injury/illness). Cav should have also been there especially since they were just filling spots obviously.

 

[RedheadDane]

NOPE! FJ was coming to France no matter what (barring injury/illness). Cav should have also been there especially since they were just filling spots obviously.

Yes, exactly. Jakobsen was always the plan for Quickstep. Cavendish could maybe have gotten a spot, but it's not like Asgreen was supposed to have had a role that could just as well have been filled by Cavendish.

 

[jmdirt]

Yes, exactly. Jakobsen was always the plan for Quickstep. Cavendish could maybe have gotten a spot, but it's not like Asgreen was supposed to have had a role that could just as well have been filled by Cavendish.

I understand: bring a guy with one good leg instead of the best TdF sprinter of all time. That makes sense.

 

[RedheadDane]

I understand: bring a guy with one good leg instead of the best TdF sprinter of all time. That makes sense.

Of course it was a mistake to bring Asgreen, he said that much himself. However, his role is not one that could have been filled by Cavendish. They'd still need someone to pull on the flat, so if they had realised in time that Asgreen wasn't fit - or had known that his quad would "start melting away", as the team doctor so nicely put it - they would probably have brought someone like Serry or Keisse, that kind of guys.
On the flipside, Asgren could never - and would never be expected to - compete in a mass sprint, so him and Cavendish can under no circumstances replace one another in a lineup.

 

[jmdirt]

Of course it was a mistake to bring Asgreen, he said that much himself. However, his role is not one that could have been filled by Cavendish. They'd still need someone to pull on the flat, so if they had realised in time that Asgreen wasn't fit - or had known that his quad would "start melting away", as the team doctor so nicely put it - they would probably have brought someone like Serry or Keisse, that kind of guys.
On the flipside, Asgren could never - and would never be expected to - compete in a mass sprint, so him and Cavendish can under no circumstances replace one another in a lineup.

Who are they pulling for on the flat for (did they even do that on the stage that FJ won)? No matter how hard you flop around, there is no reason that they shouldn't have included Cav on the team. FYI: I didn't say they were the same type of rider, Pati was just filling a roster spot, so just fill it with 'sprint plan B', and maybe make history.

 

[RedheadDane]

Who are they pulling for on the flat for (did they even do that on the stage that FJ won)? No matter how hard you flop around, there is no reason that they shouldn't have included Cav on the team. FYI: I didn't say they were the same type of rider, Pati was just filling a roster spot, so just fill it with 'sprint plan B', and maybe make history.

They were obviously hoping that Asgreen would have been fit enough. He's not just a "roster spot filling"!
Maybe they could have brought Cavendish, but it was pretty clear right from the beginning of the year, that he was very unlikely to go, unless Jakobsen didn't go.

 

[ciranda]

OMG they robbed Cav

Spoiler

agna

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Asgreen has won the best of all the tours

 

[RedheadDane]

If anything, it was the other way around. If they had known Asgreen wasn't fit, they might have brought Cavendish instead of Asgreen, but in a wildly different role.
It was the plan right from the beginning of the year that Asgreen was going. It was never the plan that Cavendish would go.

 

[Valv.Piti]

You accomplish absolutely nothing by bringing Cav over Kasper. Fabio is the sprinter, and there only like 4 sprint stages

If anything Julian at like 70% would prolly be a lot better than both.

 

[jmdirt]

They were obviously hoping that Asgreen would have been fit enough. He's not just a "roster spot filling"!
Maybe they could have brought Cavendish, but it was pretty clear right from the beginning of the year, that he was very unlikely to go, unless Jakobsen didn't go.

Hoping?! You don't bring a guy to the TdF to test his leg. He was just filling a roster spot.

 

[yaco]

I understand: bring a guy with one good leg instead of the best TdF sprinter of all time. That makes sense.

It's hard enough bringing one sprinter with the paucity of sprints in this edition of the TDF - And you want to bring two - It's like you haven't been watching the race.

 

[RedheadDane]

Hoping?! You don't bring a guy to the TdF to test his leg. He was just filling a roster spot.

Yes, he was filling the roster spot that was meant for him the entire time. They did not "bring him instead of Cavendish". Please don't imply that a guy like Asgreen - a Monument winner - is someone who just fills roster spots.
And it's not just "hoping he would be better". In Denmark in seemed like he was better, there's nothing wrong with the knee as such, it's the loss of muscle mass that's the issue. An issue that only really began after they had started.

Let's see. When Declercq got Covid, someone posted that Cavendish was the replacement for Jakobsen, Senechal the replacement for anyone else. So, if they had known from the beginning that Asgreen's let would be an issue, the would probably have brought Senechal instead. Then, when Declercq got Covid, I don't know who the heck they would have brought.

 

[AlfaLum]

Too bad for Kasper that he is not fit. Would have been a good Tour for him if he had been with quite a few opportunities for success.

 

[Red Rick]

Yes, he was filling the roster spot that was meant for him the entire time. They did not "bring him instead of Cavendish". Please don't imply that a guy like Asgreen - a Monument winner - is someone who just fills roster spots.
And it's not just "hoping he would be better". In Denmark in seemed like he was better, there's nothing wrong with the knee as such, it's the loss of muscle mass that's the issue. An issue that only really began after they had started.

Let's see. When Declercq got Covid, someone posted that Cavendish was the replacement for Jakobsen, Senechal the replacement for anyone else. So, if they had known from the beginning that Asgreen's let would be an issue, the would probably have brought Senechal instead. Then, when Declercq got Covid, I don't know who the heck they would have brought.

1kg of leg muscle asymmetry doesnt just appear overnight

 

[RedheadDane]

1kg of leg muscle asymmetry doesnt just appear overnight

I'm just repeating what the team doctor said; that before the start of the race, he seemed fine. And they most certainly did not "bring him instead of Cavendish"!

On one hand we got Asgreen, who after Jakobsen was probably one of the safest candidates, regardless of the location of the Grand Depart.
On the other hand we got Cavendish, who was never scheduled to go in the first place.
So, obviously they couldn't possible "bring Asgreen instead of Cavendish".